Shorts have proven time and again that they have access to insider information and so on. So, the recent downgrade from GS, MS etc may be indicative of some bad-news that they have somehow managed to get early access to?

IF that is the case, BBRY would tank after ER. Ladies and Gentleman, fill up your trading account with cash. If shorts have managed to get hands on some leaked documents and they are proven right (again) this ER, we've some buying opportunity coming our way.

On the other hand, I keep my fingers crossed that they are proven wrong this time and proven wrong by wide margin. So wide that they are embarrassed to show their face!

I think the report would have alluded to some of those weaknesses. But it didn't, did it? Unless BES12 subs did not convert to paying customers, there shouldn't be anything too weak. Hardware is positive margins (although lower revs). Chen hinted at positive cash flow being a trend. The only bear thesis will likely be lower revenue. As long a Chen guides higher for all rev streams except BIS service fees, and for those streams to more than compensate for lower service fee trend, it will be all good.

I think the report would have alluded to some of those weaknesses. But it didn't, did it? Unless BES12 subs did not convert to paying customers, there shouldn't be anything too weak. Hardware is positive margins (although lower revs). Chen hinted at positive cash flow being a trend. The only bear thesis will likely be lower revenue. As long a Chen guides higher for all rev streams except BIS service fees, and for those streams to more than compensate for lower service fee trend, it will be all good.

I agree wholeheartedly. Here's a chart showing the damage we suffered this Monday is nothing but recent history repeating itself in the lead up to a positive ER. Go Chen Go!

(Bloomberg) -- Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. plans to invest in Snapchat Inc., the mobile application for sending disappearing photos, at a valuation of $15 billion, people familiar with the situation said.

China’s biggest e-commerce company intends to invest $200 million, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private.

Snapchat, based in Los Angeles, was in discussions last month to raise $500 million in a round of financing that could value the company at $16 billion to $19 billion, a person familiar with the situation said at the time.

Alibaba’s investment would be outside of that round, one of the people said Wednesday.

Snapchat’s valuation has skyrocketed since it was founded in a Stanford University fraternity house in 2011. Chief Executive Officer Evan Spiegel turned down a $3 billion acquisition offer from Facebook in 2013 and went on to raise funds from 23 investors at a $10 billion valuation last year. That increase has corresponded with a surge in venture spending to the highest level in more than a decade.

WASHINGTON, March 11 (Reuters) - Three major U.S. Wall Street banks had to scale back planned investor payouts after an annual check-up by the Federal Reserve, and two foreign banks failed the test altogether, a sign the Fed is keeping a tight lid on Wall Street.

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co, all with large and risky trading operations, lowered their ambitions for dividends and share buybacks, the Fed said on Wednesday, to keep them robust enough to withstand a hypothetical financial crisis. The revised plans allowed them to pass the Fed's simulation of a severe recession.

But the Fed rejected plans for the U.S. units of Deutsche Bank and Santander, in line with earlier media reports.

The objection came even though both banks satisfied the Fed's minimum capital requirements, since there were "widespread and substantial weaknesses across their capital planning processes," the Fed said.

Citigroup, whose Chief Executive Mike Corbat has staked his job on not failing the so-called stress tests again, will sigh a breath of relief as it passed this year's tests, so that it can raise its payouts after it failed last year for the second time in three years.

Shares in Citi rose by as much as 3.2 percent after the bell.

The bank said it will raise its quarterly dividend to 5 cents a share from the penny a share payout it had to adopt during the financial crisis and that it had won approval to buy back $7.8 billion of stock during the five quarters beginning in April.

Bank of America scraped by, as the Fed approved its payout plans, but said it had to get a better grip on its internal controls and its data models.

"Bank of America exhibited deficiencies in its capital planning process.... in certain aspects of (its) loss and revenue modeling practices," the Fed said.

Morgan Stanley withdrew a proposal to repurchase $4.9 billion worth of trust preferred securities to get the Fed to approve its capital plan, a person familiar with the matter said.

Still, its shares were up 2.7 percent in after-hours trading after the investment bank said it would buy back up to $3.1 billion in common stock and raise its dividend to 15 cents a share from 10 cents.

The Fed first started running its so-called stress tests in 2009, when many of the largest U.S. banks were struggling to repay taxpayer bailout funds they took after the collapse of Lehman Brothers a year earlier.

The failure of four of the largest U.S. banks to win unconditional approval on their first attempt underscores the deep divide between Wall Street banks and their regulators over whether the lenders have enough capital on their books to weather another crisis.

In a sign that the largest banks have boosted capital buffers significantly in recent years, all 31 banks tested stayed above the minimum levels, passing the first leg of the Fed's annual exam last week.

But the second part of the test, which determines whether banks can go ahead with their planned shareholder payouts, has proved more challenging, in part because the Fed weighs "qualitative" factors, such as whether banks have good systems for identifying and preparing for risks.

The tests are an increasingly important tool for the central bank, which is also the country's leading bank regulator, and allows it to look under the hood of the banks, which critics say are "too large to manage".

In last week's capital tests, banks with a large Wall Street presence such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co were among the five banks with the lowest readings on the capital chart.

The failure of the two foreign-owned U.S. bank holding companies could also signal a tough time ahead for more foreign banks expected to join the Fed's annual examination in coming years, such as the U.S. units of Credit Suisse, Barclays and UBS. Only seven foreign-owned banks took part in the tests this year.

Maybe BlackBerry should issue a tongue in cheek open letter to Apple. Offering them BES12 and other services at a discount so that they can PROPERLY secure their devices and equipment. Put it in all major financial newspapers in USA and Canada. Besides the media stir it may cause, it would bring light to Apples security issues and also potential to grab some free headlines

Jesus, 15 billions dollars and what's BBM valued at 100 million at best lol ppl are truly blind. So the 15 billion dollar valuation is coming from where? Potential??? So there going to make 1.5 billion a year giving them a 10 times earnings valuation lol.

Jesus, 15 billions dollars and what's BBM valued at 100 million at best lol ppl are truly blind. So the 15 billion dollar valuation is coming from where? Potential??? So there going to make 1.5 billion a year giving them a 10 times earnings valuation lol.

Posted via CB10

Information is the hot commodity these days. These companies don't sell advertising so one has to be suspect over where investors see the value... ie user information.

I am no expert but one could perhaps even argue that the fact that BBM is so secure, etc. is a valuation inhibitor, in this context. Obviously, in another context which values Privacy, Secure Communications, etc. the opposite would be true... But the big bucks seem to be in the former, for now. Just a thought...

I am no expert but one could perhaps even argue that the fact that BBM is so secure, etc. is a valuation inhibitor, in this context. Obviously, in another context which values Privacy, Secure Communications, etc. the opposite would be true... But the big bucks seem to be in the former, for now. Just a thought...

Yup... BlackBerry may have shot themselves in the foot by promoting themselves as a privacy company. I personally prefer it, obviously, but monetization wise, it does hinder opportunity.

As for the article... I love the end... "In terms of privacy, Facebook said all the information used for topic data is anonymized and aggregated, and that it will not disclose personally identifiable information to anyone, including its partners and marketers."....... until it does but we'll tackle that when it happens. After all, it's to make the user experience better. haha.

Yup... BlackBerry may have shot themselves in the foot by promoting themselves as a privacy company. I personally prefer it, obviously, but monetization wise, it does hinder opportunity.

As for the article... I love the end... "In terms of privacy, Facebook said all the information used for topic data is anonymized and aggregated, and that it will not disclose personally identifiable information to anyone, including its partners and marketers."....... until it does but we'll tackle that when it happens. After all, it's to make the user experience better. haha.

Personally I think they should monetize customer BBM in anyway they can and if you the security and know your data won't be sold then there is BBM protected.

In the noise around Apple's problems today it was let known that Apple has access to over 700 million credit cards. More to come I'm sure with Apple Pay.

Yet they said that they don't keep or have access to such lol. I always wondered about that. If they are getting a piece of the pie per transaction, they have to know card numbers, transit numbers, and what/where you bought.

Yet they said that they don't keep or have access to such lol. I always wondered about that. If they are getting a piece of the pie per transaction, they have to know card numbers, transit numbers, and what/where you bought.

Posted via CB10

The 700 million credit card numbers are from iTunes alone and I would guess the information gained is less restricted.

I just read a Financial Times article stated Apple iTunes was down for 8hrs and at the time of the online article at 1:30pm it stated Apple shares where down 1%.... 1% !!!? WTF if that was BB we would have been down 10% heading to close day at 15%.